This had been a long time coming for Nick Hundley, but the Padres catcher’s facial expression revealed little as he rounded the bases Tuesday night. This after hitting his first home run since last May 24, snapping a 29-game dry spell, and in the home opener, no less.

Three innings later, Hundley finally cracked a grin as he jogged home from third base on right fielder Will Venable’s bases-clearing triple off reliever J.P. Howell.

“I’m happier for Will than anybody,” Hundley said after the Padres’ 9-3 win over the Dodgers at Petco Park. “For Will to clear the bases off a pitcher like that is huge and a great at-bat with two strikes. It opened it up for us.”

All things considered, Hundley had to be happy for everyone on the roster, himself included, the way the last-place Padres took it to the National League’s most expensive team.

Still, only two players combined to cross the plate four times while going 3-for-6 with two home runs and six RBIs — Hundley and Venable, a pair that had been struggling as much as any through the season’s first six games.

First inning, first pitch to Venable: a fastball from Dodgers starter Josh Beckett.

Broad street.

Venable, by his own admission “not a home run hitter” and a .133 hitter entering Tuesday, sent the first round-tripper at renovated Petco Park screaming into the right-field seats.

“More than anything, it was just nice to get us on the board early,” Venable said of giving the Padres a 1-0 lead.

Hundley saw a similar offering in the fifth inning when he blasted a belt-high fastball, also from Beckett, off the first deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. building in left field.

“You enjoy it, but you’re not gonna be smiling like a two-year-old,” said Hundley, who, coincidentally, had also sported a .133 batting average going into the day. “That’s what you work for, that’s why you play the game, to have success.”

Prior to the Padres’ 1-5 opening malaise, Hundley had enjoyed what he called his best offseason ever. Recovered from knee surgery and a disheartening 2012 that saw him eventually demoted to Triple-A Tucson, he hit .358 with three home runs and 10 RBIs over the spring.

The homer that actually counted arrived Tuesday.

Then, in the eighth, with the bases loaded, Venable drove the ball into the gap in right-center for an 8-3 Padres lead.

Venable finished the night 2-for-3 with a career-high-tying four RBIs. Not bad for Opening Day at Petco Park, where it was good to finally be home, new dimensions and all.

“I think it’s the best place in the nation to play,” Hundley said. “I will put this up against any park.”